Community Engagement for Early Recognition and Immediate Action in Stroke

The CEERIAS community-partnered research project has the following specific aims: 1. To examine personal, community, and cultural barriers to calling 911 after stroke onset and adapt a culturally-tailored intervention for delivery in multi-ethnic communities (African American, Hispanic, non-Hispanic White) surrounding a hospital on the south side of Chicago; 2. To implement a culturally-adapted stroke awareness and action program and monitor its penetration and adoption using the RE-AIM (Reach, Evaluate, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) framework in multi-ethnic communities on the south side of Chicago; and 3. To assess change in early hospital arrival and EMS use at a intervention hospital before and after the community intervention. For aim 1, the investigators will explore and identify facilitators and barriers to calling 911 for stroke through focus groups conducted and involving key stakeholders including children and adults, stroke survivors, neighborhood alderman/legislators, spiritual and community leaders, school teachers, and stroke advocacy group members. The CEERIAS team will test and culturally refine our core community-partnered pilot intervention for implementation. For aim 2, the investigators will identify and train Stroke Promoters from collaborating community organizations on the adapted intervention techniques and messages, provide materials for public dissemination, and evaluate and monitor adoption and implementation in the surrounding communities. For aim 3, the investigators will perform an interrupted time-series analysis of EMS use and early hospital arrival among stroke patients before and after our intervention in south side Chicago communities. The research team will also compare time trends in EMS use and early hospital arrival for stroke with concurrent control PSCs on the north side of Chicago and PSCs in St. Louis. If the intervention is successful, the effect will be an increase in EMS use for stroke which will translate into earlier treatment for stroke and reduced death and disability. The CEERIAS results will be generalizable to other urban communities in the US and should be salient to other health emergencies such as heart attack and cardiac arrest.